Ball bushing rod end and method of making same



Apfil 15, 1969 w. 1.. BOWEN m BALL BUSHING ROD END AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed July 8, 1966 sneet or2' INVENTOR WILLARD L. BOWEN,I[[

ATTORNEYS 'April l5, 1969 I w. 1.; BOW EN ||l 1 3,438,661

BALL BUSHING ROD END AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Filed July 8, 1966 Sheet 2 0:2

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INVENTOR WILLARD 1.. BOWENJII ATTORNEYS United States Patent 0 3,438,661 BALL BUSHING ROD END AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME Willard L. Bowen III, Harwinton, C0nn., assignor to The Torrington Company, Torrington, Conn., a corporation of Maine Filed July 8, 1966, Ser. No. 563,843 Int. Cl. F16c 11/06; F16b 7/00; B2Sg 3/38 US. Cl. 287-88 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This disclosure relates to a ball bushing rod end which is of a seamless sheet metal construction and is formed by drawing a sheet metal blank into a cup, after which a ball bushing is inserted through an open end of the cup, followed by the shaping of the cup both generally around the ball bushing and adjacent thereto to the desired rod end configuration, together with the piercing of the rod end in alignment with the ball bushing and the shaping of the rod end around the ball bushing with the rod end surfaces contacting the ball bushing corresponding theret0.

This invention relates in general to new and useful improvements in ball bushing rod ends, and more specifically to a ball bushing rod end which has all of the desirable features of prior ball bushing rod ends and at the same time is of a construction whereby it may be mass produced at a relatively low cost as compared to previous ball bushing rod ends.

In accordance with this invention, the ball bushing rod end is formed from a tubular sheet metal blank which has been drawn from a flat sheet metal blank. The tubular sheet metal blank is closed at one end and in the initial step of converting the hollow blank into a ball bushing rod end, the ball bushing is passed into the tubular blank and is seated in the closed end thereof, after which the tubular blank is shaped around the ball bushing.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel ball bushing rod end wherein no machining of the rod end to form the seats for the ball bushing is required in that the seats are formed in situ against the ball bushing.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a novel ball bushing rod end wherein the rod end is formed from a sheet metal blank which is first drawn to the form of an elongated sleeve having a closed end, and thereafter is worked by swaging or other metal shaping operations to the desired configuration, all of which steps may be automatically performed so that the cost of making the rod end is greatly reduced as compared to those now in existence.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel method of forming a ball bushing rod end wherein the ball bushing is seated within one end of a tubular blank and thereafter a series of shaping steps are performed on the blank to obtain the general outline of a rod end, followed by the final shaping of the bushing end of the rod end by first shaping the same in a cavity die and then utilizing dies to first shear metal of the rod end in alignment with the ball bushing with the ball bushing cooperaing with the dies in the shearing operation, and then utilizing the same dies to finally shape the rod end about the ball bushing.

With the above and other objects in View that will hereinafter appear, the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by reference to the following detailed description, the appended claims and the several views illustrated in the accompanying drawings:

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a ball bushing rod end formed in accordance with this invention.

FIGURE 2 is a vertical sectional view taken through the center of the hall bushing rod end of FIGURE 1 and shows more specifically the details of construction thereof.

FIGURE 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2 and shows the specific details of the mounting of the ball bushing within the rod end.

FIGURE 4 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIGURE 2 and further shows the details of the mounting of the ball bushing.

FIGURE 5 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of FIGURE 2 and shows additional details of the rod end.

FIGURE 6 is an elevational view on a reduced scale showing a modified form of rod end.

FIGURE 7 is another elevational view on a reduced scale, with parts broken away and shown in section, of another form of rod end.

FIGURE 8 is a view similar to FIGURE 7 and shows still another form of rod end.

FIGURE 9 is an elevational view of a link formed of a rod and having rod ends secured to opposite ends thereof.

FIGURE 10 is a top perspective view of a sheet metal blank from which the rod end is formed.

FIGURE 11 is a top perspective view of a drawn tubular rod end blank formed from the blank of FIG- URE 10.

FIGURE 12 is a top perspective view similar to FIG- URE 11 and shows the rod end after it has been flattened to a generally rectangular cross section.

FIGURE 13 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 13-13 of FIGURE 11 and shows the cross section of the blank thereof.

FIGURE 14 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 1414 of FIGURE 12 and shows the specific cross section of the blank of FIGURE 12.

FIGURE 15 is an axial sectional view taken along the line 15-15 of FIGURE 14 and shows the flattened tubular blank with a ball bushing seated in the bottom thereof.

FIGURE 16 is an axial sectional view similar to FIG- URE 15 and shows the tubular blank and ball bushing after the tubular blank has been swaged to shape around the ball bushing and the diameter of the major portion of the blank has been reduced.

FIGURE 17 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 17-17 of FIGURE 6 and shows the partially shaped rod end.

FIGURE 18 is an elevational view of the partially shaped rod end of FIGURES 16 and 17 and shows the ball bushing end thereof further shaped within a pair of dies.

FIGURE 19 is an axial sectional view taken along the line 1919 of FIGURE 18 and shows the manner in which final shearing and shaping dies are actuated to shear out portions of the walls of the rod end and to reshape the walls about the ball bushing.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, it will be seen that there is illustrated in FIGURE 1 a ball bushing rod end formed in accordance with this invention, the rod end being generally referred to by the numeral 20. The main body of the rod end 20, which is identified by the numeral 21, is formed of sheet metal and includes a tubular portion 22 to which there is integrally connected a flattened portion 23. The rod end body 21 is formed of sheet metal which has been progressively worked to the illustrated configuration. A ball bushing 24 is seated in the flattened end portion 23 for pivotal movement about the center thereof. The ball bushing 24 is preferably formed of hardened steel or sintered iron although it may be formed of other materials.

Referring now to FIGURES 3 and 4 in particular, it will be seen that the flattened end portion 23 is formed of two spaced apart walls 25 which are substantially parallel to one another. The walls 25 are pierced and have seating surfaces 26 which are part spherical and are complementary to the spherical outer surface 27 of the ball bushing 24. The part spherical surfaces 26 of the flattened end portion 23 are preferably formed in situ against the ball bushing in a manner to be described hereinafter.

In the form of rod end illustrated in FIGURES 1 through 4, the tubular end portion 22 is internally threaded as at 28 and has threadedly engaged therein a threaded end 30 of a rod 31. In FIGURE 6 there is illustrated a modified form of rod end which is generally referred to by the numeral 32. The rod end 32 differs from the rod end 20 only in that the tubular end portion 22 is provided with external threads 33.

In FIGURE 7, in lieu of there being a threaded connection the body 21 of the rod end, a rod 34 having annular grooves 35 formed therein adjacent one end is connected to the tubular end portion 21 by the inwardly swaging of the metal of the end portion 21 into the grooves 35, as at 36.

In FIGURE 8 there is illustrated the ball bushing rod end 20 as being secured to a cable 37. The end of the cable 37 is secured into the tubular end portion 22 by the swaging of the end portion 22 about the cable 37 so that the interior of the end portion 22 conforms to the external configuration of the cable 37 In FIGURE 9 there is illustrated a link generally formed in accordance with this invention and being iden- 2 tified by the numeral 38. The link 38' has secured to the opposite ends thereof ball bushing rod ends 20 formed in accordance with this invention. If desired, the connections between the ball bushing rod ends 20 and the rods 40 thereof may be of the adjustable type utilizing screw threads as shown in FIGURE 2. On the other hand, there may be a rigid connection between the rod 40 and the rod ends 20 of the fixed length type shown in FIG- URE 7.

It is to be understood that although the body 21 of the rod end is formed of sheet metal, it will have a high strength. The body 21 will be formed from a suitable high grade sheet steel. Also, if desired, the body 21 and the ball bushing 24 may be hardened.

In order to facilitate the lubrication of the ball bushing 24 with respect to the rod end body 21, the flattened end portion 23 is provided with an annular grease cavity 41 in which grease may be packed and stored for lubrication as the ball bushing 24 turns within the body 21.

Reference is now made to FIGURES 10 through 19 wherein the method of forming the ball bushing rod end 20 is generally shown. The first step in the forming method is to provide a suitable flat blank 45 which is formed of the desired sheet metal and is of the desired size and configuration. The blank 45 is drawn into a relatively deep rod end blank 46 having a generally semispherical lower portion 47 and an open end 44. The drawn tubular blank 46 is circular in section as is best shown in FIGURE 13.

The tubular rod end blank 46 is next flattened on the opposite sides thereof so as to have a generally rectangular cross section, as is best shown in FIGURE 14. In the flattening of the tubular blank 46, there is formed a pair of spaced apart walls 48, the spacing of which is substantially equal to the length of the ball bushing 24 and the walls have a width substantially equal to the diameter of the associated end of the ball bushing so that the ball bushing may be readily, yet firmly, pressed into the tubular blank 46. Inasmuch as the bottom of the tubular blank 46 is generally semi-circular in longitudinal section parallel to the walls 48, it will be seen that the ball bushing 24 will firmly seat on the bottom 47.

After the ball bushing 24 has been seated in the tubular rod end blank 46, the tubular blank 46 is worked upon by a suitable swaging die 49 so as to shape the lower part of the tubular rod end blank 46 around and to the contour of the ball bushing 24. This results in the forming of a closed end portion 50 in which the ball bushing 24 is seated. It also results in the reduction of the cross section of the remainder of the rod end blank 46 and the elongation thereof to form an elongated sleeve 51 which is utilized in the coupling of the resultant rod end to a suitable rod like structure.

After the shaping of the blank 46 about the ball bushing 24 by the swaging die 49 has been accomplished, the closed lower end of the partially shaped rod end blank 46 is further worked upon by a pair of dies 52 which may be swaging dies or any other similar type of metal shaping die. The dies 52 serve to more tightly form the closed end portion 50 of the formed rod end blank 46 about the ball bushing 24.

The closed end portion 50 of the partially formed rod end blank 46 is next worked upon by a pair of tubular dies 53 which are disposed in opposing relation and are brought into engagement with the spaced apart walls 48. It is to be noted that the dies 53 pass through suitable openings 54 formed in the dies 52.

As the dies 53 engage opposite walls of the closed end portions, the walls are urged towards one another with a resultant shearing action between the dies 53 and the ball bushing 24. This shearing action results in the shearing off of circular center portions 54 of the walls 48. After the center portions 54 have been sheared out of the walls 48, the walls are further moved towards one another and the sheared Surfaces of the walls resulting from the removal of the centers 54 thereof are shaped in place about the ball bushing 24 to tightly conform to the configuration of the spherical outer surface of the ball bushing 24.

It will be readily apparent that inasmuch as the part spherical seats 26 formed on the spaced walls are formed in situ about the spherical surface 27 of the ball bushing 24, there will be a tight fit between the ball bushing and the seats 26 which willfirmly anchor the ball bushing 24 and at the same time permit the necessary pivoting or rotation thereof. It is also to be noted that the lubricant channel 41 is automatically formed in the shaping of the closed end portion 50 about the ball bushing 24.

The formation of the ball bushing rod end 20 is now complete with the exception of the final shaping of the sleeve portion 51, as is required to form a connection with a rod or a rod like member. As has been shown in FIGURES 1, 6, 7 and 8, various types of connections may be provided.

It will be readily apparent that inasmuch as the rod end formed in accordance with this invention is formed from a tubular sheet metal blank which is readily stamped from a flat blank and since the necessary shaping operations performed in the making of the rod end may be quickly and readily accomplished by means of automatic machinery, including swagers, the ball bushing rod end of this invention may be very economically formed. It will also be apparent that the body of the rod end will have the desired strength inasmuch as it may be formed of high quality sheet steel. The strength may be enhanced by hardening the sheet metal.

It will also be readily apparent that there will be no problem of the accuracy of the fit of the ball bushing within the rod end inasmuch as the rod end has the ball bushing receiving portion thereof shaped about the ball bushing and therefore, the mating surfaces must be complementary.

Although only a preferred embodiment of the invention has been specifically illustrated and described herein, it is to be understood that minor variations may be made in the ball bushing rod end and method of forming the same without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A ball bushing rod end unit comprising a hollow elongated tubular one-piece drawn sheet metal rod end having one end thereof shaped for coupling to a rod and the opposite end thereof transversely closed with portions flattened so as to define a pair of generally parallel and spaced walls, said walls each having a generally circular transverse opening therethrough with each opening being defined by a part spherical seating surface, and a part spherical ball within said opposite end in alignment with said transverse openings and seated on said seating surfaces.

2. The ball bushing rod end unit of claim 1 wherein said one end is internally threaded.

3. The ball bushing rod end unit of claim 1 wherein said one end is externally threaded.

4. The ball bus-hing rod end unit of claim 1 wherein said one end has an adapter rod seated therein in interlocked relation with said adapter rod projecting therefrom.

5. A method of forming a ball bushing rod end unit comprising the steps of drawing a sheet metal blank into an elongated seamless cup shaped hollow rod end blank having an open end and a remote integrally closed end with said rod end blank being open beginning at said open end and continuing to said closed end, inserting a ball bushing having an axis into said rod end blank through said open end, and positioning said ball bushing in the opposite end portion of said rod end blank, reshaping the opposite end portion of said rod end blank in situ around said ball bushing so as to generally conform to the contours of said ball bushing, and reducing said rod end blank in cross section generally from said open end towards said opposite end to re-form said open end and form a rod attaching end on said blank.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein simultaneous with the reshaping of said rod end blank, portions of said rod end blank aligned with said ball bushing are removed.

7. The method of claim 5 wherein simultaneous with the reshaping of said rod end blank, portions of said rod end blank aligned with said ball bushing are removed by means of a die in shearing cooperation with said ball bushing.

8. The method of claim 5 wherein simultaneous with the reshaping of said rod end blank, portions of said rod end blank aligned with said ball bushing are removed by means of .a die in shearing cooperation with said ball bushing, and thereafter the remaining sheared surfaces of said rod end blank are formed in situ against said ball bushing to form seats complementary to said ball bushing. 1

9. The method of claim 8 wherein an initial part of said reshaping is performed within a die cavity and while said blank is retained in said die cavity said first mentioned die is actuated.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,025,727 12/ 1935 Crawford. 2,23 6,062 3/ 1941 Katcher. 2,361,046 10/ 1944 Molly 28787 XR 2,488,979 11/ 1949 Kogstrom. 2,768,848 10/ 1956 Mitchell et al. 287--87 2,855,665 10/ 1958 Alldredge 29-441 2,910,316 10/ 1959 Dier. 3,248,776 5/ 196 6 Brewster.

CARL W. TOMLIN, Primary Examiner.

A. KUNDRAT, Assistant Examiner.

, US. Cl. X.R. 29-149.5 

